Hajime ends up playing a different game first.

Hajime gulped, then looked from the controller in front of him to his oddly erotic and uncharacteristically excited friend. That intense feeling of wrongness stayed with him. Even though this woman looked like Chiaki, sounded like Chiaki, and wanted to play games like Chiaki, the differences were too jarring to ignore. It would be naive to simply accept that his friend and neighbor had gotten so hot for him after a period of near-silence that she'd decided to start putting the moves on him, and with such a bizarre game, to boot.

Ignoring the part of his brain telling him that all Chiaki wanted was a hot night, and that if he played along, that was what they'd have, Hajime cleared his throat. "Chiaki... You know I'm willing to play with you, even on a late night with work tomorrow."

"Really late, I hope," Chiaki nodded, smiling eagerly and even batting her eyelashes.

"... Before we do anything, I gotta know what's going on." Hajime tried to make his urgency sound like casual curiosity. "What's going on with the makeup? What's with the sudden interest in party games about shortstacks? What-"

Before he could continue, Chiaki reached out a finger to hold it over his lips, frowning at him for a reason he couldn't understand. "Hajime. I really wanna play this game with you. I think we ought to just play it. Then, it'll all make sense... Trust me."

"I don't think I'm going to be able to concentrate on the game unless I get some answers first! You're already five times better than me at video games. You don't need that kind of distraction handicap, right?"

"It's not about either of us winning... We'll both win playing this game." Now Chiaki was clearly pouting, puffing her cheeks up slightly. She stared into Hajime's eyes a moment longer, and when he didn't agree with her, she rose to her feet. Before Hajime could ask what she was doing, she'd repositioned her beanbag chair to between Hajime and her entertainment center, then returned to sitting with her legs crossed and her shoulders forward. "Fine. Before we play the party game, we'll play another game. We've got all night, after all... Hajime, let's play Truth or Dare. You can ask for a truth or a dare, but you can't ask for the same one three times in a row. Also, since I'm good at games, I'll give you a handicap. I'll take one turn for every two of yours. If one of us doesn't tell the truth or do the dare, that person passes. If you pass twice, you lose. If you lose, you have to play my new game with me right away. If I lose... Hm..." Chiaki paused, thoughtfully.

"You didn't bother thinking about the possibility of losing," Hajime commented with an awkward smile. "That's how confident you are, even in a game like this?"

"No, it's not that," Chiaki reassured him, shaking her head slowly. "It's more like... I'm not sure what you could want that I wouldn't give you, anyway."

Hajime didn't understand what she meant... Then, looking at her bare legs and her interesting choice in lipstick, the implications came to him. He cleared his throat roughly, then spoke. "If I win, I reserve the right to ignore your game, to just leave and go to sleep... I have work in the morning, after all! But, even if I don't win, don't blame me if I just fall asleep regardless." He wished he could yawn to demonstrate how tired he was, how tired he ought to be, but found he didn't actually feel sleepy at all.

Chiaki pouted again. It seemed like she was about to protest, but after a moment of deliberation, she agreed. "I think you don't look that tired... But, if you insist. I don't really think sleeping for work tomorrow is important..." Chiaki paused to let out a big yawn. "Welp, sleep is pretty great. So I get it. That condition's fine, probably."

Seeing Chiaki yawn put Hajime at ease. Somehow, that seemed to ground him again and reminded him the person he was talking to was indeed his familiar friend, even if she was acting funny. "Then, I guess you'll start?"

"You're letting me start... Interesting," Chiaki mused with her new odd smile, easily breaking that sense of familiarity Hajime had just been feeling. "All right. I'll start off easy with a truth. Hajime..." Chiaki leaned forward closer, so that her big pink eyes were staring up past her bangs and into Hajime's grey ones. "Do you wanna do it?"

"..." Hajime's jaw hung open at the forward proposition, and he took a moment to respond. "That's... a little vague. Do I wanna do what?"

"Me," Chiaki responded immediately, without backing off. She tilted her head just slightly, inquiringly, but without taking her eyes off his. "Do you wanna do me?"

Without realizing it, Hajime had sunk back into his beanbag chair, putting him on eye level with the smaller woman pressing towards him. He couldn't respond and ended up babbling. "It's not like... I mean... I couldn't just, you know... I wouldn't right here, I mean..."

There was a loud buzz from the entertainment console behind Chiaki, and a red light which backlit her and the serious eyes she fixed on Hajime. She backed off slightly to let him see the screen behind her, which showed a bright red X. "Hmm... You lied, Hajime. It's probably not good to lie so easily, I think... Especially if you're trying to win."

"Wait, is that the game?!" Hajime was startled to see that their conversation was having any input on the game Chiaki had put on the TV, considering neither of them were holding the controller and there was no apparent microphone or camera. "How is it doing this?"

"You want a truth? Okay..." Chiaki reclined in her chair slightly, parting her legs with a lack of concern of the pink pixel-patterned panties she was now flashing at Hajime. "This isn't really a game, it's a Tome. A magic Tome. I haven't got it set up to play many cool games yet, honestly... Truth and Dare lie detecting, I think, might be about as much as it can do for now... Unless we go inside, that is."

A green check mark flashed on the screen.

Hajime clapped a hand over his mouth. It was hard to believe... Magic? But, what was the alternative? That Chiaki had programmed a fake game to make him sweat over the idea of having sex with her out of nowhere? That was even crazier! Without giving it much thought, he let another question slip out. "This magic Tome... is it controlling you?"

"Not really... It's more like it's influencing me. But..." Chiaki stretched and yawned again, calling attention to her huge chest and displaying even more of her soft thighs. "It isn't making me do anything I didn't wanna do anyway. Like, for instance, ask if you wanna do me." Another green check mark flashed on the screen behind her, and she smiled with a new bit of flushing. "Your two truths are done. This time... let's do another truth. Hajime... are you in love with me?"

The young man gulped again. He tried to decide how to answer... Then, he decided that overthinking it was pointless. If he lied, the game would detect it, and it'd be over. Plus, there was no ambiguity in how he felt, so he didn't see any point in lying. "Yeah."

The straightforward response seemed to catch Chiaki off guard. Her eyes widened and her flush grew. Slowly, however, she settled back into a pleased, genuine smile. "... I'm glad. I... honestly wasn't sure. I'm not any good with that kind of thing, you know? I admit... I wasn't sure if you liked me. I mean, I didn't even know I was in love with you before I got the Tome. Once I did, though, I felt it, and I realized... it isn't the Tome making me feel something. It's just helping me... explore... what I already felt. So... we were both in love with each other. That makes me happy... Say, Hajime," Chiaki continued after a pause, leaning in with her smile widening as she saw he didn't flinch back. Her lips parted expectantly. "You made me give you two truths. Now, you've gotta give me a dare. What'll it be, I wonder...?"

Hajime looked into Chiaki's shining eyes, realizing the two of them were nearly close enough to kiss now. He realized that, if he wanted, he could almost certainly lock his own lips with Chiaki's own soft, pink ones and start making love to her. He couldn't imagine her objecting or telling him to focus on the game instead. Alternatively, the part of his brain currently receiving signals from his lower body reminded him that if he had to make a dare, he could use the cover of trying to win to request any sexual favor he wanted from her, and she'd almost certainly do it.

Now that he'd admitted he loved Chiaki, however, he had to act like someone who really loved her, so his dare was something different. "Chiaki... I dare you to take that game out of your console and break it." Feeling his face go beet red as well, Hajime shut his eyes to deliver another declaration, one he was too embarrassed to deliver while facing his crush. "Do that, and we can do whatever else you want tonight. Like, you know... whatever you want. I'll even call out of work tomorrow-"

"Pass." Chiaki interrupted him in a moody tone, pouting again and crossing her arms beneath her large breasts. "That's my extra life gone. You don't play fair, huh, Hajime...?"

Hajime opened his eyes, having snapped himself out of the good mood from his romantic offer. "Chiaki, that should have been an easy dare, if all you want is to be with me..." He put a hand to his chin, pensively. "Truth. What did you think would happen if you played that game with me?"

The Tome Mistress stayed quiet for a second, then glanced away from him evasively, casting her eyes to her ceiling. "Well... I'd show you the Pocket Dimension, and you'd have a great time... We'd have lots of fun playing games, have fun with each other... and then, hm..." Chiaki was still facing away, but she turned her eyes back to him, speaking more sheepishly. "I promise, this was something I thought you'd enjoy. I really do think you'd enjoy it. No, definitely. You'd definitely enjoy it! I would, kind of, um... I mean, the tome would... finish turning us into imps."

"... What do you mean 'finish turning us into imps?'" Even as he asked the question, his mind was filling in the blanks for him.

"Geez, Hajime... All right, I answered your truth. I think it's time for a dare. I dare you to kiss me."

"What? Why now? What about my question?!"

"If you kiss me, you won't care about the question! Better hurry up unless you're ready to-"

Hajime interrupted her by leaning in, placing his hands on her thin shoulders, and locking in the first romantic kiss either of them had ever had shared with anyone. While he screwed his eyes shut, feeling the expected nervousness of a young man who'd never tried such a thing, Chiaki's eyes went wide... Then, satisfied, she closed her eyes as well. She returned his advances and affection with even greater enthusiasm, wrapping her arms around his neck and smooching him repeatedly with her full, pink lips. She leaned in closer, pressing her large breasts against his chest, wanting to push him back into his soft chair, to be on top of him and wrap even more of herself around him. Or, if he would only move in more aggressively, she'd slide back into her chair and gladly let him onto her. Her mind raced with the things she wanted him to do, the things he could make her do to him without even daring her...

Instead, Hajime held his ground, and instead of advancing, he gently backed off from her. Breathing heavy, he stared into her sparkling pink eyes. His gaze moved to her hungry, bright pink lips. Then, his eyes traveled to the bangs hiding her forehead. Before she could protest, he moved his hand below those bangs, pushing them up as if he was taking her elevated temperature and breathing as a sign she had a fever.

That wasn't it. Instead, his hand encountered strange resistance, and he found what he was afraid of: there were already two small, rigid bumps on Chiaki's forehead.

Chiaki realized what had shocked Hajime, but she only giggled, poking them with one thin finger. "I think they're cute... They'll look much better when they're finished growing. Then I think the tail and wings'll come in... I'll look like something right out of a JRPG. Oh, and I'll be a better size for you, too. Since you like shortstacks, I think you'll really-"

"I don't 'like shortstacks!'" Hajime shouted incredulously. "I like you, and that... magic Tome thing... it's changing you! Tell me this truth: do you want to change me, too? Into that weird imp thing you showed me?!"

Chiaki looked shocked again, but she slowly nodded. "Yeah... I'll be Chichi and you'll be Nanahime, and you'll really like it. When you and I are imps, we can play games and make love as much as we want, then sleep as late as we want. We'll even get all kinds of cool powers, like leveling up and gaining skills! It's not just for me, though... Isn't that what you want, too, Hajime? You can forget your boring old job and studies and have fun as one of the imps in my Tome."

Hajime only grew further freaked out. "'One of?'" He almost turned that into a clear question, then stopped himself. If he asked for another truth now, he'd be losing their game.

Regardless, Chiaki answered his question with a big smile on her face, eager to have him buy into what she was selling. "Sure. I mean, games are more fun with more friends, I think. It'd be great to get a whole bunch of friends in the Tome to play with us. Unless... You want it to be just the two of us? But I'm not sure if the Tome works that way... I think we could make it work, but actually... I don't really know..." She mused, apparently trying to decide if there was any way to change her plans to accommodate him.

Hajime sighed, putting a hand on his forehead and trying to calm himself. It was starting to hit him that this was bigger than his relationship with Chiaki, and probably bigger than whether or not he was willing to be transformed into a magical creature. If he was right, the things happening to Chiaki now had major implications he might not be able to fully understand.

With that in mind, he needed to take this game very seriously. If he lost, he'd have to join Chiaki in the Tome. He suspected that once that happened, it'd be too late to stop what was happening. If he wanted to save her, he had to find a way to win...

On the other hand, if he wanted to join her, all he had to do was forfeit.